I am a postdoctoral researcher at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, in the Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry.  We study viral pathogens, including disinfection through wastewater treatment, detection in the environment, and genetic diversity.  My current projects are related to molecular techniques for detecting human norovirus in wastewater for potable reuse and the correlation of Hepatitis E virus and land use in river systems of India and Switzerland.

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My dissertation research in the Harwood Lab investigated the role of environmental variables in survival of antibiotic resistant bacteria and the fitness costs of antibiotic resistance.  Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) are a growing public health threat, predominantly confined to clinical settings but increasingly found outside of hospitals.  My goals were to quantify VRE in natural waterbodies impacted by sewage spills using culture-based and molecular methods and to determine the drivers of survival in different environments.  I conducted microbial source tracking studies in various watersheds to determine sources of fecal indicator bacteria.  I studied environmental reservoirs of Vibrio vulnificus, an opportunistic, naturally occurring pathogen found frequently in the warm coastal environments of Florida and responsible for many fatalities here each year.  In the Rohr Lab, I was involved in collaborative projects on many subjects: the chytrid fungus associated with global amphibian decline; the importance of biodiversity in disease dynamics; the association of climate, infectious disease and conservation.  I have also worked on projects focused on antibiotic resistance associated with animal agriculture and am interested in the intersection of human health, environment and the food industry.

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I worked at the non-profit organization Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) in New York, NY for two years, assisting attorneys with environmental issues including Everglades restoration, fisheries management and the Clean Water Act.  During my Master’s research at Queens College/City University of New York, I studied antibiotic resistant bacteria in the Hudson River Estuary associated with combined sewer overflows.  I also studied combined sewer overflows in the Hudson during my undergraduate research at Barnard College.